JP2006349752A - Camera device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain dew condensation on an optical lens by interrupting the convection of moisture inside the housing of a camera device. <P>SOLUTION: Space between a level difference part 5C at the edge of the lens barrel 5 of the camera device and the periphery part of a second lens 2 abutting on the level difference part 5C is directly sealed with a silicone system adhesive, for example, as a sealing member 16, so that ventilation is stopped in space between lens space S1 between a first lens 1 and the second lens 2, and in-housing space S2 on the rear side of the second lens 2. By interrupting the infiltration of the moisture in the in-housing space S2 to the lens space S1 due to the convection in such sealing structure, the dew condensation on the first lens 1 and the second lens 2 is restrained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dew condensation suppressing technique in a camera device.

  In cases where the camera body, such as a digital camera or in-vehicle camera, has a sealed structure, dew condensation occurs due to the high humidity inside, and in some cases, dew condensation also occurs on the optical lens. There is a problem that the video can not be obtained.

  Therefore, as a method for preventing condensation, in the conventional method, (1) a technique of dehumidifying the inside of the housing with a desiccant (see, for example, Patent Document 1) or (2) heat generated from the CCD substrate is heated. A structure has been proposed in which a material (metal) with good conductivity is used to transfer heat to the vicinity of the dew condensation site so that dew condensation is difficult to occur (for example, see Patent Document 2). Furthermore, there is also a structure in which (3) a part of the casing is thinned to cause dew condensation in the previously thinned part (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

JP 11-119315 A JP-A-8-9208 JP 2000-194048 A

  However, in the techniques of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the cost is increased by using a metal or a desiccant, and further, it is necessary to secure a space for installing the desiccant, and cost reduction and downsizing are required. This is a major drawback for cameras.

  Further, in the technique of Patent Document 3, when the temperature inside the camera becomes high due to energization, moisture convection occurs, moisture distribution occurs inside the housing, and it is impossible to avoid an increase in humidity near the lens. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a technical situation, and to provide a camera device capable of suppressing the occurrence of dew condensation in the optical lens portion while reducing cost and size. For that purpose.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera apparatus comprising: a first lens attached to a front opening of a housing; and a second lens disposed on a back surface side of the first lens in the housing. The gap between one lens and the second lens is sealed with a sealing member at the peripheral edge thereof. The housing includes, for example, a case housing an image sensor and a cylindrical barrel whose rear portion is fitted to the opening of the case, and the first lens and the second lens are attached to the front of the barrel. Things can be considered.

  Hereinafter, various embodiments of the subject of the present invention will be described in detail along with the effects and advantages thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  According to the subject matter of the present invention, the inter-lens space formed between the first lens and the second lens and the inner space of the housing on the back surface side of the second lens are blocked by the sealing member. It is possible to prevent moisture in the space from flowing into the inter-lens space, and to suppress dew condensation on the first lens and the second lens. Moreover, since the ventilation is stopped by the sealing member, dew condensation can be prevented at low cost and without increasing the size of the camera. In particular, the housing is configured to include a case that houses the imaging element, and a cylindrical barrel that has a rear portion fitted to the opening of the case, and the first lens and the second lens at the front of the barrel. Is attached between the first lens and the second lens by the sealing member even when moisture heated in the case by energization to the image sensor travels forward in the lens barrel by convection. It is possible to prevent entry into the inter-lens space, and to suppress the occurrence of condensation on the first lens and the second lens while reducing the cost and size.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the camera device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion R surrounded by a broken line in FIG.

  In the figure, the camera device has a lens barrel 5, a front case 6, a rear case 7, and a lens presser 8 that form the casing. A CCD 3 serving as a solid-state image sensor is mounted on the CCD substrate 4 accommodated in the front case 6 and the rear case 7 which are the rear space inside the housing, and the output signals of the CCD 3 The signal is transmitted to the external circuit 11 through the wire 12 provided in the cases 6 and 7 and the output take-out cable 10 forming the output end.

  Further, the rear portion of the cylindrical barrel 5 is fitted and held in the opening 6 a of the front case 6 so as to keep an airtight state by the O-ring 13. At the front part of the lens barrel 5, a step part 5C for holding the peripheral part of the second lens 2 over the entire periphery is formed at the corner part of the front end surface and the inner peripheral surface.

  As for the lens group held by the lens barrel 5, the first lens 1 positioned at the tip of the lens group 5 is in contact with the outside air, and the second lens disposed on the back side of the first lens 1 in the casing. 2 at least. Of course, an arbitrary number of optical lenses may be provided between the rear of the second lens 2 and the CCD 3. In this embodiment, a plurality of optical lenses 14 and 15 (intermediate lenses are not shown) are arranged. Has been established. The peripheral edge of the first lens 1 is in contact with the front end surface of the lens barrel 5 so as to be kept airtight by the O-ring 9 and is attached to the outer peripheral side of the lens barrel 5 and the front case 6. 8 is supported.

  The feature of the present embodiment is that the gap between the first lens 1 and the second lens 2 at the front end portion is directly sealed with a sealing member 16 made of an adhesive or an O-ring at the peripheral edge thereof. The space between the lens S1 between the first lens 1 and the second lens 2 and the space S2 in the housing on the rear side of the second lens 2 are air vents. More specifically, the sealing member 16 such as an adhesive or an O-ring applied to the step portion 5c is used to connect the peripheral portion of the second lens 2 and the step portion 5C and the peripheral portion of the second lens 2 to the peripheral portion. The space between the first lens 1 and the contacted lens 1 is directly sealed. As the adhesive forming the sealing member 16, it is preferable to use an adhesive such as silicone.

  In this way, the sealing member 16 is used as a ventilation stopper between the optical lenses 1 and 2 at the front end portion to block moisture in the housing space S2 from entering the lens space S1 by convection. Therefore, the occurrence of condensation on the first lens 1 and the second lens 2 can be suppressed. In particular, when the CCD substrate 4 is heated by energizing the CCD 3, the moisture in the front case 6 and the rear case 7 is warmed, and the inside of the lens barrel 5 is easily moved forward by convection (here, the second case). Since the lenses 14 and 15 on the rear side of the lens 2 are merely fitted in the lens barrel 5, moisture passes between the outer peripheral portions of the lenses 14 and 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel 5. In this case, the sealing member 16 can reliably prevent the lens 1 from entering the inter-lens space S1, and the first lens 1 and the second lens 2 can be prevented from entering each other. The occurrence of condensation can be suppressed. In addition, since it is sufficient to simply apply the sealing member 16 to the step portion 5c to prevent condensation, the cost is low and the size of the camera device is not increased. The inter-lens space S1 desirably has a small internal volume. As a result, even if moisture permeation occurs, the amount of water vapor that passes through the inter-lens space S1 can be reduced. Condensation on the lenses 1 and 2 can be effectively suppressed.

  As described above, as the sealing member 16, an O-ring other than the adhesive may be used. Such an O-ring 20 sealing structure is illustrated in the enlarged sectional view of FIG.

(Appendix)
While the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed and described in detail above, the above description exemplifies aspects to which the present invention can be applied, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, various modifications and variations to the described aspects can be considered without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  The camera device according to the present invention is preferably applied to, for example, a vehicle-mounted camera.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows typically the structural example of the camera apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an R portion surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an R portion surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 1 when an O-ring is used as a sealing member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st lens 2 2nd lens 3 CCD (solid-state image sensor)
4 CCD substrate 5 Lens barrel 6 Front case 7 Rear case 8 Lens holder 9 O-ring 16 Sealing member 20 O-ring (sealing member)

Claims (2)

  A first lens attached to the front opening of the housing; and a second lens disposed on the back surface side of the first lens in the housing, between the first lens and the second lens. The camera device is characterized in that the periphery thereof is sealed with a sealing member.   The housing includes a case that houses an imaging device, and a cylindrical barrel that has a rear portion fitted into an opening of the case, and the first lens and the second lens at the front of the barrel. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the camera device is attached.

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